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List Price: $9.98 | | Label: Interscope Records
Salesrank: 8116
Released: November 2, 1999 |
| Our Price: $4.50 |
| Used Price: $0.47 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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This Desert Life Track Listing:
1. Hanginaround
2. Mrs. Potter's Lullaby
3. Amy Hit the Atmoshere
4. Four Days
5. All My Friends
6. High Life
7. Colorblind
8. I Wish I Was a Girl
9. Speedway
10. St. Robinson in His Cadillac Dream/Kid Things
Editorial Review:
All Songs Were Written by the Band. Produced by David Lowery (Sparklehorse) and David Herring (Throwing Muses.) Includes Extra Track Not on the Us Version.
Description of This Desert Life:
Two years in the making, This Desert Life is the kind of collection that will please the Counting Crows faithful and leave doubters unconverted. Adam Duritz's recognizably emotive vocals and the group's classic-rock stylings remain in the fore as the Crows stick near the nest with their third studio outing. The Mellencamp-like opener, "Hanginaround," is one of the strongest tunes here, thanks to its laid-back passion and catchy piano and percussive elements. The familiar feeling "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby" is another lively offering, but at nearly eight minutes it's too long. The emotional, Van Morrison-like lament "All My Friends" feels self-pitying, while the balance of the album is simply bland. The sound is appealing (witness the spare "Colorblind" and the waltzing "Amy Hit the Atmosphere"), but This Desert Life is, on the whole, rather dry. --Katherine Turman
This Desert Life Reviews:
Great Tracks on Here 
2009-10-14 - When I first bought this CD, I didn't like any of the songs except the first 2 and Colorblind, but now that I've listened to it for awhile, I find the only weak track on this album is Speedway. I especially like the St. Robinson song and All My Friends. I already had the Best Of album, so the couple of songs at the beginning of the album I already liked. It's a solid album, but most of these songs will never be on the radio. But they are very creative and are very nice to listen to. He is a great singer and lyricist and that makes it enjoyable to listen to. I find I like a lot of the Crows not so popular songs just as much as their big radio hits. Every one of their albums have many great songs and this one is no exception. It's not quite August and Everything After, but it is comparable to Recovering the Satellites in quality, although there are fewer songs. All My Friends has a great set of lyrics and it really spoke to me personally. Amy Hit the Atmosphere is a really mellow song, but also has a lot of passion. Highly recommended for anyone who likes the Crows.
Found this CD in my son's computer 
2008-04-16 - In December '07, I pay a visit to my grandsons in New Jersey and I found a strange song in the computer of my son. The title: "St. Robinson in his Cadillac dreams" of Counting Crows and........I like it. I collect LPs and CDs of popular music from 1960 from USA and United Kingdom. For me is the only song of this CD that I recommend
An American Classic 
2008-04-06 - While listening to Counting Crows "This Desert Life", you're reminded in why Counting Crows are arguably America's greatest band going today. In this third effort since they released "August and Everything After", Counting Crows showed their ability to create a unique, fresh new sound without sounding like previous albums. Singer/songwriter Adam Duritz brilliant, true to life lyrics are existent once again and it's evident in the number of classics among these tracks.
Highlights are:
Mrs. Potter's Lullaby
High Life
Hanginaround
Colorblind
All My Friends
I Wish I Was a Girl
Classic American Rock
2007-12-01 - Third studio album from Counting Crows, "This Desert Life" has a handful of very good songs, a couple of decent songs and also a few misses.
"Hanging Around" was one of the singles, and it's both catchy and melodic, but the repetitive chaotic ending never really appealed to me. Much better is second track "Mrs Potter's Lullaby", an epic song that would have suited the great Van Morrison perfectly.
Other favourites are the REM sounding "Four Days", the dramatic "I Wish I was a Girl", the melancholy "Speedway" and the semi-acoustic closer "St. Robinson in his Cadillac Dreams" - great fat organ and mandolin.
The album as a whole may not be quite up to the high standards of the debut, but still a great album that will satisfy fans of the band. Classic American Rock!
Not Their Best But A Solid Effort
2006-12-20 - For Counting Crows third album the band starts off with a song that sounds like it was written specifically to receive radio airplay. Although the song "Hangingaround" was a pretty big hit, it is really significantly different from what Counting Crows are known for and just sounds to me like a kowtow to record industry pressure. I really never liked the song much at all with it's "we've got to have a hit" vibe. After that though things improve immensely with the almost 8 minute "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby" and "Amy Hit The Atmosphere" both of which are great songs. The rest of the album is up and down. Overall it is a mellower release than "Recovering the Satellites" as many of the songs are moody and reflective. Other highlights include "All My Friends And Lovers", and "Colorblind". This is probably the weakest of the Crow studio discs up to this point, but it is still a strong album for the most part.
